


You're My Butter Half

by sunshineflying



Series: Reyux Great British Bake-Off AU [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baking, Christmas baking, F/M, The title is the worst pun I know, excessive use of baking terminology, great british bake-off AU, this will make you hungry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:00:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21746395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineflying/pseuds/sunshineflying
Summary: Shortly after the events of Recipe for Success, Hux and Rey return to the Bake-Off tent with Phasma and Ben for a holiday re-match. One weekend, three challenges, one winner -- who will take home the star baker title this time?
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rey
Series: Reyux Great British Bake-Off AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1321532
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19
Collections: Reyuxmas 2019





	You're My Butter Half

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to Lauren for the beta on this! Much appreciated! 
> 
> You'll probably want to have read A Curious Mix and Recipe for Success first, but you'll probably enjoy this fluff even if you haven't read those. Happy Reyuxmas!

Rey hadn’t expected to ever end up in the Bake-Off tent again. She’d spent just over a year trying to figure out what to do with her life after she’d won. She had a love-hate relationship with her victory after a difficult six months in London, but now that she was settled into life in Wolverhampton with Hux, things were better.

Hux. Her fiancé. The man she’d met in this very tent.

He stood at a workbench across the tent from her, and with them stood Ben and Phasma. The four of them were back, this time for a holiday-themed episode where they’d do three bakes, a winner would be chosen, and that would be it. 

It was being billed as a Bake-Off rematch. Rey was almost certain that this time she wasn’t going to win, but she would try her hardest.

Preparing for this episode had been difficult, because Rey and Hux would be facing off against each other while they lived in the same flat. That meant they tried each other’s bakes, knew what the other was doing in at least a vague sense, and had insider intel. However, Rey kept things a mystery and tried several different recipes, giving Hux absolutely no clue as to which ones she’d be baking in the tent that weekend.

Their signature bake was an easy one on paper — a holiday themed and flavored tart. From there, they could do any variations they wanted. 

Rey bustled around her workstation, flour on her cheek almost immediately as she worked to put together her gingerbread crust. She’d opted for the riskier of the two options: a chocolate crust with a cranberry and lemon curd marbled tart filling. There were many ways it could go wrong, aside from just in the flavors. She had an idea of what Hux was doing across the tent from her, but had no idea what to expect from Ben and Phasma.

Rey had more on the line this time. She had a shop where she sold her baked goods daily. Baking was her _livelihood_. If she made a fool of herself on this show, there was a potential that it’d hurt her business. A slim chance, but a chance nonetheless.

But even with that, the pressure was more bearable than the last time she’d been in the tent. She wore her engagement ring proudly on her left hand as she baked, and was more than happy to show it off to the judges and hosts when they stopped by her baking station before returning to work on her tart. Rey felt more confident in her skills, and she knew the stakes were much lower.

If she did poorly, it was fine. There was no weekly filming and elimination. This was a holiday one-off, and it was for fun. Holidays had once been the bane of her existence, everyone else celebrating with their family while she was all alone, but now… now she had a family. She and Hux could celebrate together, and she’d finally know what it felt like to have a family for the holidays.

She had her friends, of course, but this was different. Family was forever. Friends could be fleeting.

Hers weren’t, of course, but she still lived with the fear that they’d return to America before she was ready for them to go.

At judging, Rey finally allowed herself to look up and around at what everyone else had made. Their tarts all looked absolutely immaculate. Phasma had gone for gingerbread and white chocolate, decorated with candied nuts. Ben’s was as dark as the clothes he always wore, chocolate with chocolate, a molasses mocha swirl in the tart filling. Hux had gone with his gingerbread amaretto tart, and with a sinking feeling, Rey knew that she hadn’t come in first.

Her curd hadn’t set the way she’d wanted, but it was too late to go back and make a new one. Though the judges liked her flavors, predictably they’d dinged her for the curd. The flavors, though — that was something. Hux had been told they couldn’t taste the amaretto, which left him frowning in a way that only Rey knew meant he was incredibly discouraged.

However, that didn’t matter one bit, because when it came time for the technical challenge, he practically knew the recipe by heart. It was a family tradition he’d baked with his mother over and over again as a child, before she’d passed. 

They had to make a bûche de noël… a yule log.

It was easy enough: chocolate sponge, chocolate buttercream, all rolled up into what looks like a swiss roll. Then, coat with chocolate ganache, create design with a fork, and per Mary’s instructions, they also had to make some mushrooms out of fondant as decoration. 

But there were also plenty of ways they could go wrong — primarily, if the cake was cooked too long, it would crack when rolled. But if it wasn’t cooked long enough, it’d be raw and they’d be marked down points. 

Hux knew it all like the back of his hand. Rey had baked one with him once, their first Christmas as an engaged couple, but she’d let him take the lead. She hadn’t memorized the recipe or his little tricks — she’d just done as he asked and together they’d made a beautiful cake.

Rey did her best, racking her brain for all the tips and tricks he’d told her along the way. She remembered to roll the baked cake while it was still warm so it wouldn’t crack, and that a fork could do the lines of the log just right, but it was still not enough. She placed third out of four in the technical, just barely above Ben, who’d forgotten about his cake in the oven and not had the time to bake a new one, so it cracked miserably in more than one place.

——

Though discouraged, Rey didn’t dwell upon it as she once would have done. No, instead she smiled with pure joy when Hux placed first in the technical, and congratulated him with a hug and a chaste kiss before the cameras switched off and they went inside the manor for dinner.

“Well, you two are sickeningly adorable,” Phasma says as the four of them sit down at a table together.

Rey’s face flushes red, and Hux tries to look unaffected. “Are we?” he asks.

“Yes, you are,” Ben replies. “Nice ring, by the way.”

Beaming, Rey replies, “It is! I love it.”

Phasma leans over, looking across the table at Rey’s hand. “Pretty diamond. You wore that while baking?” she asks.

Nodding, Rey explains, “Holdo thought it’d be good for the whole public image thing, letting people know. Even though it’s on my blog, some people just watch the show. And also, I like showing it off. I hardly ever wear jewelry.”

She smiles at Hux, who looks only mildly uncomfortable with the situation.

“Have you two finally confessed your own feelings?” Hux asks, pointing his fork between Ben and Phasma.

Ben chokes on his wine. “Excuse me?”

Phasma laughs, jovial and bright. “That’s not what’s happening here,” she says. “We’re just friends.”

Mischievously, Rey says, “That’s what we used to say, and now look at us.”

“No, that’s not what this is,” Ben adds. “It’s not. Stop that.”

Rey and Hux exchange a knowing glance, leaving the conversation to end with Phasma and Ben both repeating at least five times more that they are _not_ dating. Absolutely not.

Phasma asks Rey about the new developments in her life — the move, the new business, life as an engaged woman — but slowly the conversation turns away from baking and work to more personal things. Ben talks about his dad’s retirement, and how is mom refuses to retire no matter how old she gets. Phasma talks about how she’s just redone her motorcycle helmet in a gorgeous chrome finish. Hux shares a beautiful story from his past, the memory of baking a yule log with his mother.

It’s a comfortable night filled with conversation and friendship, one that Rey never would have imagined herself experiencing. These people that she only spoke to in the tent were sitting across from her, interested in her life and her future. They were her _friends._

They were people who’d be there for her even if her American best friends went back to their home country. They gave Rey a sense of _home_.

After dinner, they retreated to their bedrooms, Rey and Hux sharing one at the end of the hall while Phasma and Ben each retreated to their own. In their room, Rey turned to Hux and sighed. 

“You’re beating yourself up over something,” he observes. “Stop that.”

She laughs as she throws her arms up and flops onto the bed. “I can’t help it!”

Hands in his pockets, Hux walks towards the bed and says, “This is a one-off episode. The stakes couldn’t be lower.”

“What if I give my cafe a bad reputation?” she whines.

“Impossible,” he says simply. “Now, stop that. We’re back in the tent for one weekend only, and I think we ought to revisit some things we never got around to here in the manor.”

Rey raises an eyebrow.

“Sneak into the kitchens for dessert?” she suggests.

Hux removes his hands from his pockets and pulls off his jumper. Underneath is a button-down shirt, but it’ll be quick and easy to remove that, too. “I was thinking something a little more private,” he replies.

Rey has definitely caught on to what he’s saying, but plays along with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. “Hmm, I don’t know,” she says, sliding her own jumper up and over her head.

Unlike Hux, she’s worn nothing but a bra underneath, along with her tight black pants. She kicks off her Doc Martens and keeps eye contact with Hux as he steps closer to the bed. He leans over her, resting his weight on one arm, and waits with bated breath for Rey to close the gap.

Their lips meet, and it’s nothing like it had felt the last time they were in the manor. No, this time it’s electric, playful. They know each others’ bodies better than they used to. They’re still learning, they’ll always be learning, but Rey knows enough to know that he likes having his feather-soft hair played with and tugged ever so slightly. He knows enough to know that she likes the feeling of his light scruff tickling her as he kisses at the tender skin of her neck.

Hux and Rey take their time, enjoying the ambiance of their historic manor bedroom, the fire crackling in the fireplace at their feet, snow lightly falling outside their window. They enjoy each other’s touch, letting out the softest of sounds of pleasure as they do. The clock downstairs strikes midnight when they settle in to sleep for the night, naked and satisfied in each other’s arms. They’ll have an early morning, but it was worth every minute, and they’ll leave the tent with absolutely no regrets.

——

The four bakers arrive in the tent the next morning, dressed yet again in festive clothes to celebrate the holidays. They have one final challenge, the showstopper challenge, and it’s a big one.

They must make a filled yeasted bread centerpiece with savory fillings to be shared at a Christmas feast, twelve sweet rolls made however they’d like, twenty-four frosted biscuits, and a festive holiday drink, all put together in one massive holiday display.

They have five hours in which to do it all, and given the number of elements they must put together, they’ll be pushing themselves to the limit to complete the challenge on time. Rey runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to put together everything she needs. The number of elements in combination with the time limit stress her out, though she knows from practicing at home that she can do it.

While she’s in a tizzy, Hux is over at his own workstation, methodically working through a step by step spreadsheet of what he needs to do, in a very specific order, so things are cooled when they need to be. 

Phasma and Ben have tactics somewhere between Rey’s and Hux’s, and for the most part there are no disasters. Flour flies everywhere when Phasma gets to work on her sweet rolls, and Rey is overzealous with her mixer and sends powdered sugar flying everywhere when she works on her icing. 

The tent is a flurry of scents and displays and various curses as everyone tries to complete all of the elements on time. When it comes down to the wire, everyone starts to arrange their bakes on their display trays, whether or not they’re as immaculately decorated as they had hoped.

In the very last minute, Ben drops two of his sweet buns. They land on the floor, icing down, and he’s not able to present them. 

During judging, the comments are brutal, but complimentary at the same time. Though everyone had some missteps in one way or another, and Rey presented with a dribble of chocolate down her cheek, the four bakers walk away feeling accomplished. They’d done a lot in five hours, and now the results of the show were out of their hands.

Regardless of who won the Holiday rematch, they could walk away proud of what they’d done. Instead of having the final award given outside like in the regular series, they stood inside the tent to receive the news. Rey and Hux stood hand in hand, Phasma and Ben doing the same to Rey’s other side, Phasma and Rey’s hands linking the four of them together. Anxiously, they waited for the hosts to reveal who won.

“First of all,” says the brunette host, “we want to thank you all for coming back to the tent for this exciting re-match. It has been such a joy to watch you all bake again, and show us what you’ve learned since last competing together. There’s nothing like seeing friends for the holidays, am I right?”

After everyone in the tent has nodded, the blonde host begins. “I am very pleased to announce that the winner of the Bake-Off Holiday Rematch is…” she looks between all four of them, building the suspense.

Rey squeezes Hux’s hand; she knows she won’t win, but she knows that it’ll come down to Hux and Phasma. He has a shot at winning, after an ill-timed departure in their original series.

“Hux.”

Rey squeals immediately upon hearing his name, and turns to hug him excitedly. He’s pliant in her embrace, hands gently touching her back; he’s either very unenthused about his win, or too shocked to fully show an emotion. Whatever it is, the camera has zoomed in on the reaction, and many viewers eagerly wait to see if they’ll share a kiss right there on national television.

They don’t, but Rey doesn’t hesitate to kiss his cheek before allowing everyone else to swoop in to offer more platonic congratulations to him.

On the train ride home, Rey keeps her hand tucked in Hux’s, a happy smile on her face. He’s quiet — much quieter than at home, if it’s even possible — and Rey wonders what’s running through his head. It feels too personal to ask on the train, so she just allows him his silence for the rest of their journey.

The journey from the train station to their flat is a short one, and Rey feels warmth spread deep in her bones at the sight of all their holiday decorations up around their home. Their tree is lit up, a wreath on the front door, fairy lights hanging in the windows. It’s such a cozy home, one she feels so lucky to have built with Hux.

“Everything okay?” she asks softly as they leave their bags by the door; they’ll worry about them tomorrow.

Hux nods, and they toe off their shoes next to where they’ve left their bags.

“You’ve been very quiet,” she adds, pressing a little more.

He glances over his shoulder at her, and then nods to the stairs. They walk up to their room, Hux still as silent as ever. Rey frowns, but follows, hopeful that in the privacy of their bedroom, he’ll talk. 

It’s not until they’re changed into their pajamas and curled up under the duvet of their bed that he finally opens up. 

“I’ve been thinking about my mother a lot today.”

_Oh._

Rey feels like she should have known, should have anticipated that he’d react in such a way. Baking was something they did together, before she passed. All of his fondest memories are about baking. She was the reason he stayed in the kitchen — to keep her memory alive. And now here he was, with a Bake-Off victory all thanks to what she’d taught him.

“She’d be so proud of you,” Rey whispers gently.

She brushes her thumb comfortingly on his waist where she holds him, curled up against his side.

He nods. “I know.”

“ _I’m_ so proud of you, too,” Rey adds.

Hux breathes, and Rey hears the way it trembles. She wants to look up so bad, but also understands that he needs this privacy. Instead of giving in to her urges, Rey just snuggles closer to him and says, “One day, we’ll have a house full of kids and they’ll all be proud of you, too.”

Curiously, Hux asks, “Do you think we will?”

Rey nods. “I hope so. I’ve always wanted a big, loving family. I’ve never had one.” Now, she chances to look up and ask, a bit nervously, “What about you?”

Hux glances down, noticing her apprehension right away. “Well, I hadn’t given it much thought. Truth be told, I barely expected to manage to find someone who’d tolerate me enough to marry me,” he confesses. “Never mind someone who’d want children with me.”

“Three.”

Caught off guard, he asks, “What?”

“Three. I’d like to have three babies with you,” Rey says simply. She curls up again, face tucked up against his chest. “Little red-haired babies who you can share all your mother’s recipes with.” Very softly, she adds, “If you want that.”

Gently, he kisses the top of her head and rubs her arm gently. “I want whatever will make you happy.”

“But would it make you happy, too?” she presses.

He’s quiet, like he’s thinking about it, but Rey can hear his heart racing in his chest and she knows that more than anything, he’s trying to parse through these desires he’s probably never acknowledged before. After a beat, he speaks.

“Yes. Having children with you would make me very, very happy.”

Rey smiles. She hadn’t expected Bake-Off to change her life in such a way, but now that she was here, talking about starting a family with Hux — she wouldn’t change it for the world.


End file.
